1,030 students have graduated from Miramar International College, as the class of 2020 in agribusiness, specifically trained in hydroponic farming technology. The entire class was sponsored by Young Africa Works is a partnership program funded by Mastercard Foundation to a tune of Ksh12.5 billion ($125 million) and run by KCB Foundation.
Following the training, the 1,030 graduates are set to receive greenhouses which they will co-own as two individuals, to kick off their entrepreneurial journey under the program.
Speaking at the ceremony, Young Africa Works Deputy Chief of Party in charge of business development services, Ms. Prisca Githuka congratulated the youth and the training partner for completing the first step towards job creation.
The program will see a total of 28,000 greenhouses constructed across the country, with the youth undergoing training on how to establish and run them.
The first 100 greenhouses are ready for use in Ngong Kibiko, with construction of the next 500 greenhouses ongoing. 300 are located in Limuru, 100 in Ruiru and another 100 in Juja.
All the greenhouses are being manufactured and constructed by KCB Foundation’s 2jiajiri program graduates, who were trained in construction and manufacturing. Their counterparts from the agriculture pillar will later come in to own the greenhouses and to plant produce for off-taking.
It plans to create 1.586 million jobs over the five years of the project’s implementation. This will be through the construction of the 28,000 greenhouses in 560 sites across the country. They have partnered with Miramar International College for agribusiness-hydroponic farming, Gearbox for manufacturing of the greenhouse structures and ArcSkills Kenya for construction.